1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reel for winding and unwinding rolled strip. The reel includes a drum composed of several segments which can be spread apart and have conically formed sliding surfaces with which they rest against a reel shaft. The reel shaft is rotatably mounted in a reel housing. A plunger connected to the drum segments by means of a connecting flange is guided in the reel shaft. A positioning drive is utilized to obtain a relative axial movement between the reel shaft and the plunger connected to the reel segments which axial movement causes the spreading of the segment. A displacement drive is used to move the reel drum in and out relative to the strip collar and/or to effect the adjustment relative to the strip center.
2. Description or the Prior Art
European Patent No. 004,854 discloses a rolled strip reel of the aforedescribed type. The reel has a positioning drive rigidly connected to and rotating with the reel shaft. During operation, the positioning drive must constantly be supplied with pressure means in order to keep the segments in the spread apart position. This makes necessary rotary pressure means supplies which are expensive and malfunction prone.
In the known reel for rolled strip, the entire reel housing must be capable of displacement on rails or other guide means in the direction of the reel shaft to be able to carry out the entry travel into the coil (preferably in double cone reels) and the compensation of the strip center mismatch. The size of the displacement drive must be dimensioned so that the heavy reel housing including reel, positioning drive, drive motor, coupling and gear assembly can be moved in an accurate manner. As a result, expensive guide means are necessary for precise handling of these great loads. In addition, large and expensive displacement drives are necessary.
German Offenlegungsschrift No. 3,028,607 describes a reel for rolled strip in which the pusher is pretensioned by means of the force of a spring and thereby held in the spreading position. The segments of the drum are returned from their spreading position by means of a stationary and nonrotatable positioning drive.
It is the primary object of the present invention to improve a reel for winding and unwinding rolled strip of the above-described type. Specifically, a reel is to be provided which, with small and inexpensive drives and without the requirement of supplying pressure means to rotating components, ensures a simple return of the drum segments from the spread-apart position, optimum travel of the reel drum into and out of a coil, and a reliable adjustment relative to the strip center.